Soceity & our collective Sense of aesthetics !! Are we lost ?


I have often wondered what has happened to our sense of aesthetics. Collective sense of aesthetics is direct reflection of a matured soceity. We had it deep rooted in our culture. Poems of great poets, short stories, novels, movies, drama, music, art, festivals, our dress, craft, everything reflected our land, it’s natural & cultural setting. They were strong tools for social & cultural reforms. Our streets, Tea shops, Barber shops, schools, libraries, clubs, public gatherings where fertile fields for discussions, debates & criticisms. Aesthetics was never restricted to rich. It was an inherent part of life of every common man. architecture was just a reflection of these collective sense of aesthetics, highly contextual and unique, be it a single room house or a palace. For last few decades, we have lost it. Our aspirations changed. As a soceity we are confused & caught between the West & Middle East. Aesthetics is referred to as a luxury, helping the rich flaunt their ego. Not only in architecture, but even in other facets of art, literature, craft, fashion & life, we have lost our authenticity & contextuality. We have lost our identity. We have been so engrossed in the digital world, we fail to appreciate little things. We are busy copying. A rich culture is getting eroded in the name of globalisation & modernisation. Let’s learn from west, learn from east, north & south but embrace our context & culture. We need to recapture the true idea of “sense of being”. These are the best times to bring back a bit of romance in our life, appreciating little things around. Let’s make life beautiful & living an experience.

Vivek :)

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